Trump's United States Under Trump's Second Term Feels Oddly Recognizable to Those Watching from the East

When Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, takes the stage in New York, she is not just considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.

But in the year since the president was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”

Wang’s fears reflect a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.

The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.

“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to marginalize or weaken the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”

Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without the same levels of force.

But since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’

The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.

A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng resided in the US for several years, after escaping the country due to pressure from the authorities.

In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.

“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

His backlash came from online peers, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.

“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East now as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”

“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear declining.”

The government's purchase of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.

On Monday, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.

Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor notes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad